Folder cover



July 26, 1960 c, HUNGER ETAL 2,946,604

FOLDER COVER Filed July 15, 1957 m 55mg"- INVENTORS M44151 6. Hun 65k! Gan/m5 R REL-'0 A NEYS United States Patent M FOLDER COVER James C. Hunger, 8008 Michigan, Oakland, Calif, and

1 George R. Reed, 1115 Lovell Court, Concord, Calif.

Filed July 15, 1957, Ser. No. 671,966

'3 Claims. (Cl. 281-34) The present invention relates to a removable cover for file folders or the like and is adapted to protect and beautify conventional folders such as manila folders whereby same may be directly employed in presentable fashion in contacts with other than the owner.

It is common practice in present day business to employ conventional manila folders for filing such as correspondence and the like and such folders conventionally have the back flaps thereof laterally elongated to receive identification so that in drawer filing, for example, the subject matter filed therein is immediately discernible without opening the folder. Although such folders have found wide acceptance they are most commonly employed only in internal business operations for the lack of folder bulk so desirable in a filing system renders the folder rather flimsy and also the appearance of the folder is at most utilitarian. In those businesses wherein files must be prwented to or viewed by clients or associates the lack of structural strength of the folder is quite a detriment, as prolonged handling causes soiling and wear. Also the lack of a suitably presentable appearance in a folder provided a client, for example, is a serious drawback to their use. Although the above noted difficulties can be overcome by utilizing other types of folders the consideration of costs both in original folder price and increased filing space required for more substantial folders militates against this solution. I

The present invention provides a folder cover that is readily employed to encompass a conventional folder and is likewise readily removed therefrom upon return of such folder to the files. The present folder cover serves the purpose of protecting file folders and of presenting a very good folder appearance while at the same time in no way interfering with present folder filing practices. Additionally the folder cover of this invention provides ready Viewing of the holder identification without necessitating opening of same. 7

It will be apparent that the folder cover of the present invention need only be employed in relatively small supply compared to the number of file folders employed as only those folders actually in use need by encompassed by the cover. Thus the present economy of inexpensive file folder utilization is in no wise disturbed and yet the convenience, protection, and presentability of permanent, sturdy, and pleasing folders are achieved. Precluded also by the present invention is the necessity of transferring papers from file folders to binders and the like for their presentation to customers or clients.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a detachable folder cover.

It is another object of the present invention to provide removable means for protecting manila folders while not masking the identification area thereof.

It is a further object of the present. invention to provide an improved file folder having a permanent removable cover encompassing the exterior thereof and provid ing unimpeded viewing of the folder identification strip.

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be 2,946,604 Patented July 26, 1960 a be adopted within the scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a projected view of a file folder encom passed by a folder cover and partially open .to show the relation of elements.

Figure 2 is a plan view of a folder cover on a closed folder.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken at 3-3 of Figure 2. Considering now the details of the present invention in amplification of the foregoing general description of advantages and functions thereof and referring to the drawing, there will be seen to be illustrated. a folder cover 11 adapted to cooperate with and encompass a conventional file folder or manila folder 12. This folder is commonly formed with integral front and back flaps 13 and 14 respectively formed by folding of a single sheet of light cardboard or the like along a central fold line 16. Folders of this type are formed with the back flap 14 having a greater width than the front flap to dispose a tab 17 thereof beyond the front flap when the folder is closed. This tab 17 may extend the entire length of the back flap or may be foreshortened and disposed at various positions along same with many commercial folders of this type being provided in sets having the tabs of each folder offset from the next adjacent folder. The tab 17 is provided on the folder for identification of the contents thereof as by aflixing written indicia either directly thereto or in attachment therewith as illustratively indicated by the tab 17 attached as by glue to the tab of the folder in Figure 1.

Conventional folders of the type identified are adapted to contain papers 18 such as correspondence or business records and attachment of same the folder is commonly accomplished by a clasp 19 extending through holes punched in the folder and in the papers retained thereby.

As previously noted, it is the aim of the present invention to provide means for protecting and beautifying a folder such as the type described above and thus to extend the utility thereof far beyond the task of mere filing and into the realm of universal use including the viewing and handling of same by such as clients and customers. The cover 11 is adapted for removable attachment to a folder 12 in encompassing relation to all surfaces thereofexposed by a closed folder and yet not hiding the folder tab or any tags thereon. While a variety of cover configurations are possible, particularly as regards the portions thereof engaging the folder for afiixing same thereto, only a single configuration is herein illustrated for simplicity. The cover includes front and back flaps 21 and 2.2 respectively formed of a single piece of material having a longitudinal fold line 23 centrally thereof about which the flaps are folded to close the cover. The cover flaps are made slightly larger than the flaps of the folder with which the cover is adapted to cooperate, i.e., the cover is generally provided in both legal and letter size to fit such types of folders.

As regards cover construction same may be advantageously formed of a light leatherette or the like having a pleasing appearance and high wear and stain resistance. The cover may be finished about the edges thereof by electronic sealing or by the application of a narrow tape binding 24 folded over the edges about same and retained by a seam 26 sewn With thread along the cover edges inwardly therefrom. Also metal corners 27 may be afiixed as by clamping to the folder corners for further 3. enhancing the wearing properties and appearance of the Cover.

The front and backcover flaps-21 and 22 are, as noted above, adapted to overlie the flaps of a folder and thus the back cover flap 22 is made wider than the front flap 21 by the width of the folder tab 17. Removable folder attachment means are provided in the form of front strip 28 afiixed within the front cover flap 21 along the outer edge thereof and into attachment with at least the top or bottom of the flap and preferably both. This front cover strip 28 is adapted to lie flat upon the cover interior at the outer edge thereof and is attached to the front flap by electronic seaming or by the seam 26.

Upon the inner surface of the back flap 22 along the outer edge thereof there is disposed additional folder retention means 29 overlying a portion of the back flap and forming at least one pocket for receiving the back folder flap at the tab 14 thereof. This folder retention means 29 has the property of exposing to view the folder tab or any tags thereon and while various configurations of same are possible the most widely applicable is a single piece 31 of flexible transparent material such as transparent plastic secured to the back cover flap 22 by the seam 26 about the edges thereof. This strip extends for the full length of the flap 22 and for approximately one-half the width of the flap at the bottom edge thereof, then tapering towards the upper flap corner so as to provide maximum folder gripping and still facilitate folder insertion in the pocket formed thereby. The other strip 28, is, as will be seen in Figure 1, similarly formed to receive the folder flap 13. The folder retention means 29 on the back flap of the cover may be alternatively formed of opaque material such as the flap material with a transparent window therein in position to expose the written indicia on the folder tab or may comprise only corner strips adapted to retain the folder corners, however, one continuous transparent strip along the entire back fiap edge, as shown in the drawing is the most universally adaptable in that no particular location of the indicia on the folder is required nor are any particular folder corners required in order for the folder retainer means to properly retain the folder.

The folder cover of the present invention is very easily employed merely by slipping the front folder flap 13 under the front cover strip 28 and slipping the back folder fiap 14 and tab 17 thereof into the pocket formed by the folder retaining means 29, i.e., under the back cover strip in the illustrated embodiment. In this position the folder 12 is firmly held within the cover 11 with the latter wholly encompassing the entire exterior and tab of the folder. The cover fold line 23 and folder fold line 16 are adjacent and aligned so that closure of the folder and encompassing cover is merely a matter of 4 folding the front and back flaps of the two together. In closed position, illustrated in Figure 2, the folder is entirely covered and hidden by the cover with the exception of the folder tab which is covered but not hidden so that writing thereon is easily viewed. The covered folder resembles an expensive binder without the bulk thereof,

, serving substantially all of the normal binder functions and having additional advantages. Further, the cover of this invention because of the ease of attachment and removal is a material time saver in that files need not be removed from the folders thereof for handling and display but only a few seconds for folder cover application is required. A material saving in cost is also realized through the use of the folder cover herein described for only a small number of these inexpensive covers are required for a large number of folders owing to the removable nature thereof whereby same are removed from folders when the latter are returned to files.

What is claimed is:

1. A folder cover of the character described comprising front and rear flaps connected together at their inner edges and with an outer edge of the front flap foreshortened relative to the corresponding outer edge of the rear flap so as to thereby leave a portion of the inner side of the rear flap exposed along its said outer edge when said flaps are brought into contiguous folding relation, a transparent sheet portion covering said exposed area of the rear flap and attached to said flap along the outer edge and adjacent end edges thereof to define a folder portion receiving pocket with the outer open side facing an edge of said front flap, said pocket extending from said rear flap outer edge a distance greater than said exposed rear flap portion, and means on the inner side of and attached to said front flap along the outer and end edges thereof defining a pocket opposed to said first mentioned pocket.

2. A folder cover as set forth in claim 1 in which said transparent sheet portion and said means each have one of the end edges thereof substantially greater in length than the other end edge thereof.

3. A folder cover as set forth in claim 1 in which said flaps and said means are all formed of an opaque material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,744,948 Buckland Jan. 28, 1930 2,219,807 Buxton Oct. 29, 1940 2,560,087 Cohn July 10, 1951 2,753,194 Correa July 3, 1956 2,850,016 Matheny Sept. 2, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 575,833 Great Britain Mar. 7, 1946 

